Blog@GraceJunction

The entire nation (and in fact a few more nations) is still ranting and raving because of the despicable carnage that it was forced to watch helplessly (which need not have been relayed live to this extent in the first place) and breathlessly even as a few (no one knows for sure how many) perverse and fanatic young men held a host of our army and other security men on their toes and positions for about 60 hours needlessly killing hundreds of men, women and children of diverse religion and race in the due course and damaging property worth millions and much worse, denting the image and morale of this allegedly glorious nation (glorious perhaps only by its own definition and that definition too perhaps acceptable only to not the whole of itself)! A mask, the nation, at least at the socio-political level, is inwilling to put off! Let me show you the masks associated with the Mumbai event! (more…)

Like every other civilised person I was horrified by the senseless carnage that occured in Mumbai this week. The slaughter of innocent people can never be justified irrespective of who commits these hideous crimes.One fact is very clear however, the so called “War On Terrorism” can never be won! That may sound like I am prepared to hoist a white flag in our efforts to eliminate this scourge. Far from it, the battle has got to continue but I humbly suggest that the way this “War” is being waged only encourages would be terrorists to join the fight against who they see as their oppressors. (more…)

Ten thousand years ago the agricultural revolution launched a slow wave of change. The industrial revolution, starting roughly 350 years ago, triggered a second – faster – wave of change. In the mid-1950s the United States started on the path to a completely new kind of economy – one based on knowledge rather than muscle power. This is part of a gigantic wave of technological, social and cultural change. What we’re living through now is history’s third great wave of change – one that is arriving at hyper-speed and is global in extent.

This new way of life – it’s really a new civilization or, for that matter, a “super-civilization” – is spreading out from the United States and has cells in many other parts of the world, from Japan and Singapore and China to India and Brazil.

The first phase of this current upheaval is the digital revolution and its social and cultural effects. The next phase is the fusion of the digital revolution with the genetic and biological revolution. (more…)

Come Olympics and most of us would be glued to this mega event unfold itself. More so because the built up to it and the country in which it is taking place promises much drama. This is one event which commands the most number of eyeballs, with the Athens Olympics drawing more than 4 billion people watching it just on TV. Most of us have already witnessed the violence that has marred the carrying of the Olympic torch, which signifies the uniting thread between the ancient games and modern games.

The purpose of the ancient games has been replaced by the spirit of the modern games. The Greeks placed emphasis on the Artistic nature of athletics and the preparatory role it played for its warriors. Games were important due to the impact it had on the regions economy and politics. But over a period of time the athletes began to be paid heavily for their sporting achievements and sports heroes emerged resulting in the demise of the amateurs and with it so many other things that sports stood for. (more…)

Friday saw rioting Palestinian Arabs torch the wheat fields of Israel and later on, pelting stones at the local fire brigade personnel – exactly a day after a recorded message purportedly from Osama bin Laden called on Muslims to break the Israeli-led embargo on Gaza. He also declared Iraq to be the perfect base to set up the Jihad to liberate Palestine.

Bin Laden, who was behind the terrorist network’s 09/11 attacks, has been in hiding since the U.S. assault on Afghanistan that followed those strikes. His last public statement was an audio message issued in December, when he urged his followers in Iraq to continue battling U.S. troops there. But he has his eyes trained on Israel too.

Now if you thought that Laden was the only guy who eyed Israel, then you need to know that there is also an ambitious leader in the present Iranian President! His eyes too are trained on Israel! (more…)

The latest buzz in the field of science, technology and particularly robotics is: Will machines overpower man?

Recently while watching NDTV, I saw about robots possessing human emotions of “love” being created! The highlighted question was: Now that the robots are being advanced to the extent of being capable of expressing human emotions, along with superpower, strength and intellect, will robots replace humans?

So man does seem a bit bothered about whether machines will overpower and replace him. Ironic as it is, the existence of man is under question, and that too by his own creation! (Can I take the liberty to imagine God saying, “Now man will know how it feels.”) (more…)

Hey Gigibhai your blog on the act of forgiving (Priyanka Gandhi forgiving to forget), is what inspired me to write this sequel. Thanks for that blog it was very touching and very well written …

Evil, can never be fought and won, evil has to meet its equal or more powerful rival, before it can be (eradicated) stopped. Evil was the act of bombing and victims were those who experienced the loss.

The effect of every evil deed continues even after the actual crime is over, as evil would continue to haunt and terrorize the victim by bringing in painful memories, hatred, vengeance etc.. Even though the victim of a crime may come to terms with the pain and loss, evil at every step will continue to victimize the victim ! (more…)